Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora

Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora (18 November 1804-5 January 1878) was Prime Minister of Italy from 28 September 1864 to 20 June 1866, succeeding Marco Minghetti and preceding Bettino Ricasoli. He was a member of the conservative faction of the Destra Liberale party.

Biography
Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora was born in Turin, Piedmont, French Empire on 18 November 1804, and he gained renown as a Sardinian general during the first Italian war of independence in 1848. In August 1848, he liberated King Charles Albert of Sardinia from a revolutionary mob in Milan, and he became a general and Minister of War two months later. In 1855, he commanded the Sardinian expeditionary force during the Crimean War, and he remained Minister of War until 1859. In 1864, while serving as Royal Lieutenant at Naples and Governor of Milan, he was appointed to the premiership. In April 1866, he allied with Prussia against the Austrian Empire during the Austro-Prussian War, but his hesitant military tactics would lead to the defeat at Custoza. In 1870, after the occupation of Rome by the Royal Italian Army, he became the Royal Lieutenant of Rome. He died in Florence in 1878 at the age of 73.